Annie Wallace

Annie Wallace​Actor ​

Annie is best known for playing Sally St. Claire in Channel 4's Hollyoaks.

Annie grew up in Aberdeen, Scotland where she received her initial training at primary and secondary school, appearing in many productions such as The Insect Play, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and The Front Page. She won a place at the National Youth Theatre in 1980 and was set to progress to drama school but financial constraints thwarted her ambition. Moving into another field entirely, Annie worked for many years in the computer and audio-visual industries in several Scottish cities.​A chance discussion between some colleagues led to her introduction to Coronation Street in 1998, leading to an 18-month consultative role for the character of Hayley Cropper. This liaison brought her into contact with several of the series’ actors, especially Julie Hesmondhalgh, who, upon learning of her previously stalled acting career, encouraged her to follow her original dream and go to drama school.​Subsequently, Annie relocated to Manchester and successfully won a place at the Manchester Metropolitan School of Theatre in 2001. During this time she also worked for the city’s Mardi Gras/Pride festivals for several years, including the writing and direction of the Candlelit Vigil in 2002. After graduating in 2004, she appeared in a comedy premiere “FunkFace” at The Comedy Store in Manchester, and formed a theatre company called ‘FirstNotLast’.

For several years, she performed regularly in fringe and repertory theatre productions such as Wyrd Sisters,An Ideal Husband, Stags and Hens, Withnail and I and many community pantomimes. She also diversified into sound designing and recording, lighting design, and video animation.

Annie has also written and recorded two albums with collaborator John Beresford, as well as writing music for theatre productions, and even a US TV pilot.

She had her first television break on the Channel 4 series Shameless in 2011, leading to an increased profile and more opportunities, such as some extensive voiceover work for a travel company, and was a finalist in the auditions for a BBC’s Trans Comedy Award pilot.

When not working, she has a passion for rock music, classic British television series, camping, gadgets and cider!Annie is currently playing Sally St. Claire on Channel 4’s Hollyoaks, as the headmistress of Hollyoaks High School, and John Paul McQueen’s father. She was the first ever transgender person cast to play a regular transgender character in a leading UK soap opera, and as such is the most prolific trans actress in UK television history.

Since starting at Hollyoaks in 2015, she has been listed in the prestigious Rainbow List, Pride Power List, Diva Power List, and the USA OUT100, as one of the country’s most influential LGBT people. In 2016, she won the ‘Celebrity of the Year‘ award at the National Diversity Awards, and was runner-up at the Icon Awards as ‘Cultural Icon of the Year‘. The entertainment website Digitalspy also nominated her as ‘Biggest Unsung Hero‘ in their annual Soap Awards. Topping off an incredible year, Annie also became the first ever transgender actress to be nominated for a BAFTA award, as ‘Best Actress – Television‘ in the Scottish BAFTA Awards.

Last year, she was nominated as Diversity in Media Actor of the Year, ‘LGBT+ Celebrity Rising Star’ in the British LGBT Awards, and was once again included in the Pride Power List, and the DIVA Power List.

She continues to play Sally St. Claire in her ongoing role on Channel 4’s Hollyoaks.